There Aint No Mountains High Enough
by Hiei-Touya-icedemon
Summary: Ray and Mariah are just starting to realize their love for each other when this story begins. But can blossoming love survive close friends, tournaments, teasing, opposite teams, the press, and teenage hormones? On hold for now.
1. Thoughts For Each Other

Ray looked outside his window and watched the rain fall. He'd never really minded a good downpour, so long as he had something to do.

That something was usually Mariah. Originally, they'd simply been best friends, playing board games or just talking when it rained.

Ray sighed. Lately, their relationship had been had been more than just friends. Mariah felt it, too, she'd confessed it to Ray.

They'd always told each other everything, and that hadn't changed now, mostly. There _were_ a few things Ray hadn't told Mariah, though.

There was the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about her, night and day. This sometimes interfered with his training, and royally pissed off Kai.

There were also those mad desires. The desires to touch her, feel her. It took all of Ray's self control not to race into her arms and hold whenever he saw Mariah. He might have, too, had it not have been for the publicity.

As more tournaments rose, so did the rivalry between the Bladebreakers and the White Tigers. It was already enough stress for the two teams that there were about four hundred rumors going around in Beyblade magazines about Ray and Mariah.

Ray sighed again. To clarify those rumors, he just couldn't do that to his old team, let alone his current one!

Kai wasn't the only one beginning to suspect something, Lee was, too. And unlike Kai, he wasn't likely to keep his mouth shut to the teams about it.

Ray sighed for the final time and got up from his bed. He slipped on a shirt and went into the kitchen to get a snack.

Meanwhile, two floors below him, Mariah was sitting in the White Tigers' kitchen, munching on a piece of toast and deep in thought. Suddenly, Kevin plopped down beside her.

"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" he asked, and Mariah jumped. Kevin raised his eyebrows and suddenly saw the locket around Mariah's neck. Quick as ever, he was out of his seat and behind Mariah, looking at it.

"This is new" he said, pulling it from her neck. Mariah gasped, "Give that back!".

"I wonder who's in it" Kevin said, and began to open it. "Don't you dare!" Mariah cried, and tackled Kevin.

Kevin squirmed as Mariah tried to get at the locket, and wriggled out from under her. He quickly took three steps away and opened it. Inside was a picture of Ray.

"Ooooh" Kevin cried with glee, happy to have some good dirt. "Mariah likes Ray! Mariah likes Ray!"

Mariah chased Kevin madly around the suite, shrieking, "Give that back you filthy little thief!"

Suddenly, Kevin took a sharp turn and began to run down the hallway where the bedrooms were. He turned around to stick out his tongue, and ran smack into Lee.

Both Kevin and the locket went skidding across the floor, and Mariah bent down to pick it up.

Lee looked over at the end table's clock, which read 10:48 PM.

"It's pretty late" Lee said, "You two should get to bed. After all, we have training tomorrow". Mariah nodded and began to walk up to her room, while Kevin got up, grumbling and rubbing the back of his head, and took off for the room he shared with Gary.

"Oh, and Mariah" Lee called after her, and Mariah turned around to look at him. "That locket looks nice on you"

Mariah's eyes lit up and she flashed her brother a grateful smile as she went back to her room, making sure to put the locket in a safe place.

Author's Notes: Well, not bad for a first chapter, if I do say so myself. Considering this is the first Beyblade fic I've ever written, I think I like it. Now, I want 4 reviews if you guys want me to upload my next chapter, which is already written (and so are the six chapters after that, I just have to type them all up). Anyways, until next time!


	2. Mornings

Oh my gosh, I got five reviews for one chapter! I am so happy!

beda: My first reviewer for this story! Is this fast enough?

Summer Chill: I love your name! Yeah, this is a bit more of a down-to-earth story, and I was always wondering the same thing.

m: Well, I updated! Hope you continue to read. Thanks!

lunarangel: yeah, Kevin is such a little kid. But I don't plan on making him grow up until the eighth chapter, and even then just a little.

Yumi-Ulrich4Ever: Sweet name, too! Yeah, this is my first Beyblade fic. Thanks!

Thanks to all who read, and, most importantly, reviewed! Anyway, let's get on with the story!

Ray and Mariah's mornings were quite different. On the fifth floor, Ray woke to the daily chaos. He quickly glanced at the clock, 9:06, he'd overslept!

Kai, whom Ray shared a room with, was already up and arguing with Tyson at louder volumes than a heavy metal rock concert.

Mariah woke up at 7:30 on the dot, she'd set her alarm. No one else was up yet, and she quietly crept into the kitchen.

As Ray walked into the kitchen, he could smell something burning. He realized the cause when he saw Max looking forlornly at four pieces of pitch black toast.

By 8:15, all four members of the White Tigers team were in their kitchen. The boys had followed their noses to see Mariah with simmering eggs, sizzling bacon, and four glasses filled to the top with orange juice.

Ray slipped past Kenny, who was once again uploading information onto his laptop, and grabbed a box of cereal. He sat down with it and waited for Tyson to smell the toast.

Mariah set out plates in front of everyone and told them to help themselves. Gary had four times the amount of anyone else, and Kevin was wolfing down bacon like there was no tomorrow, having already forgotten about last night's fight.

Just as Ray expected, Tyson sniffed the air and began to attack the toast with enough force to knock over the Great Wall of China. Everyone cringed as they watched Tyson's teeth sink into the harder than diamond bread.

"Ahem" Mariah said, and everyone stopped eating for a moment. She raised her glass and everyone followed suit. "On three" Mariah said, "To the White Tigers". "To the White Tigers!" everyone chorused and drank.

Tyson began to bang on the table to signify that he had something to say. He also raised his glass. "Bladebreakers on three" he said, "One…two…THREE!" "BLADEBREAKERS!" everyone one yelled (except Kai, who just rolled his eyes).

Author's Notes: Cheesy, I know, but I really wanted a chapter that described their daily routines, if you could call it that. But don't worry, the next chapter will be better, and a lot longer, too. It will also have a lot more….romance, if you could call it that. But I suppose that's what you're reading this for, no? Well, I'll have it up as soon as I get four more reviews. That's my rule. RAY AND MARIAH FOREVER!


	3. A Talk In The Field

Okay, I didn't get the four I wanted, but my two reviews were so nice that I decided to update anyway! Thanks to my two most devoted readers, answering as soon as I posted. Aww, you guys rock! (hugs beda and Summer Chill)

Summer Chill: Thanks, and yeah, you have a cool name! You blushed! (blushes) Hee hee! Yeah, it was my first time truly synchronizing their schedules, and I thought it came out badly. But you seemed to like it, so, YAY!

beda: You like my story that much? (tear runs down face) Thank you so much! As I said in my last chapter, is this fast enough for you?

Well, enough chit-chat, and on with the story!

At ten o' clock, the Bladebreakers left for practice. They were all getting ready in their reserved dish when they saw the White Tigers nearby.

Ray sent a pleading look over to Kai. The team captain rolled his eyes and put up five fingers, signaling five minutes. Ray gave Kai a look of relief and began walking over to the White Tigers.

"Hey Mariah" Lee said, nudging her and pointing to Ray, who was coming over. Mariah seemed surprised, and Lee said, "Go on".

"You're not…mad?" Mariah asked, and Lee shook his head. 'Mental not' Mariah thought as she walked over to Ray, 'Give Lee an extra helping of dinner tonight'.

When Mariah walked up to Ray, he embraced her. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" she asked.

"There's no press or any others around" Ray said, nuzzling her, "But if it would make you more comfortable, we'll go somewhere else".

Ray took her over to the side of the building, where they were in shadow. He touched her locket.

"I see you got my gift" he whispered. Mariah nodded and responded, "It's beautiful". She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Ray's eyes grew wide.

They suddenly pulled into a passionate kiss, and Ray wrapped his arms around Mariah's waist. They broke apart only when they heard Kai screeching Ray's name, and Ray began to leave.

Mariah gave him a quick goodbye kiss on the cheek and ran off to her own team. Ray touched the place where she had kissed him and returned to the Bladebreakers.

"You were there for ten minutes, I gave you five!" Kai yelled. "Fine geez, I'll be earlier next time!" Ray said, drawing confused looks from everyone except Kai.

Max and Tyson looked at each other. That didn't sound like Ray, it sounded like, well, them. Kenny finally broke the silence.

"What has Mariah _done_ to you, Ray?". Ray jumped about three feet into the air.

"You know?" he asked. "Well how couldn't we, with you over there kissing on her" Tyson spoke up.

"And then you ran off with her, who knows what you did then" Max said, throwing Tyson and himself into a mad fit of giggles, and turning Ray's face beet red.

"Have fun?" Kevin asked, sneering, as Mariah returned to the White Tigers. He began to snicker and Mariah raised her hand to slap him, but Lee started training back up just then.

"So" Tyson began as Max and Kai began a warm-up battle, "How come you never told us about you and Mariah? We're you're friends, you know".

Ray gave a deep sigh. "Well to be honest Tyson, it was you I was most worried about telling".

"Me?" Tyson asked, pointing to himself. "Mmm-hmm" Ray said, and resumed looking at the sky.

"Why me?" Tyson asked, putting on a hurt face. Ray laughed.

"Well, no offense, Tyson, but you have a big mouth. I was afraid it might slip out to someone".

"Oh, are you afraid to lose you're fangirls?" Tyson asked, putting on a fake high voice, "Oh no, Ray's taken! We'd better move on to Tyson!"

"On second thought" Tyson said, returning to his normal voice, "Maybe I _will_ tell".

"Dream on, Tyson" Ray said, laughing again, "Though I could definitely live without the fangirls"

Suddenly, Ray's voice grew solemn. "It's Lee I'm worried about" he said.

"Lee?" Tyson asked, "What's Lee got to do with anything?" "Everything" Ray said, getting up and brushing the dust off his pants.

"You see, our friendship is just beginning to repair" Ray continued, "If one of _my_ teammates let it out that I was, well, you know, with Mariah, it would totally mess up our team's reputations and turn us into some stupid Romeo and Juliet story. Because I would be the boy involved, and not to mention it's his sister I like, our friendship would plummet"

"Hang on" Kenny said, speaking up for the first time, "Let me get caught up. You two _were_ best friends, right?". Ray nodded.

"You left the White Tigers to become a better blader, he held a grudge-" "As did the rest of the team, and I don't blame them for it" "But why did he hold a grudge after everyone else had forgiven you?"

Ray sighed and sat back down. "That's a good question, Kenny. And the answer is probably because he was my best friend, and he felt I ditched him. Not to mention, well…"

"It tore his sister apart when you left" Kai said, walking up to them, Max in tow, who was looking at Draciel with a frustrated face. Ray cringed and bit his tongue at Kai's words.

"Come on, Ray" Kai said, "You're up". Ray nodded and went up to the Beystadium, while Kenny went up to Max and looked at Draciel. He nodded and said, "I can fix that for you, Max". Max handed over his Beyblade and Kenny went off into his own world again, talking to Dizzi, muttering, and pointing to parts on the blade.

"Kai can be such an asshole sometime, can't he?" Max whispered to Tyson. "Huh?" Tyson looked up from the battle, which Kai was currently winning.

"He knows Ray is sensitive on the subject of him leaving the White Tigers, and then he goes and brings up the worst part of it!" Max said.

Tyson nodded and Max slanted his eyes. "Are you listening to me?" he asked.

"Huh? Wha'd you say?" Tyson looked up. Max was about to give a sly remark when Kai suddenly screamed.

"What is UP with you, Ray! You're not even concentrating!" "I have a lot on my mind, okay?" Ray muttered, clearly trying to end this.

"Like what?" Kai continued to yell. Ray's face grew angry, but then suddenly he turned and began to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Kai demanded. "I'm going to going to think" Ray turned and gave him such a Kai-like glare that Tyson, Max, and even Kenny all sank to the ground.

But Kai didn't melt so easily. He returned the glare, and this lasted about a minute before Kai nodded and said, "Go on".

"Tyson, get over here!" Kai barked. Tyson scrambled up at the sound of his name. "Wait but-" "Shut up and get to blading". Tyson sent a worried look over his shoulder at Ray, and then loader his launcher (absolutely no sick-minded thoughts, people) to prepare.

Mariah looked up from her Beybattle with Lee to see Ray walk through the grass and then plop down. Lee looked up to see what she was looking at, then scowled.

"Go on then" he said. "Oh, no….I….can't" Mariah said, still watching Ray but also looking at her brother.

"Yes you can" Lee put on a fake smile. Mariah looked at him with a 'really?' face, and he nodded. "Have fun" Kevin snickered as Mariah began to leave.

Mariah turned around only to give Kevin a good kick in the shin, then strode off. She glanced back once to see Kevin collapse to the ground in pain and Lee and Gary howling with laughter.

Ray was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when a certain pink-haired girl sat own beside him. Mariah thought over just the right opening, not wanting to sound like Kevin. Finally, she decided.

"Needed to think, huh?" "Oh, Mariah!" Ray felt his pulse get faster.

"I saw you collapse back here. Is there something wrong?" "Oh, just the usual" "And that is?"

"Wondering if I made the right choice, about leaving you guys and then joining the Bladebreakers" Ray gently began to stroke Mariah's soft cheek.

Mariah moved her own hand up to touch Ray's, and let out a sigh. "Well, you're still friends with everyone, aren't you?"

"I dunno, am I? You tell me" "Well, Gary, being the big softie that he is, was the first to forgive you. I was the next, though I was never really mad, just hurt"

Ray removed his hand, put it and his other hand against his face, and moaned. Mariah debated on what to do, and decided to continue.

"It took the other two a lot longer" she said, "Kevin acts like he doesn't care, but I know inside he forgave you" "And Lee?" Ray said from behind his hands.

"Well, he's tough. Lee was really torn when you left, too". Another moan from Ray. Mariah bucked up her courage and continued.

"But because we're closer, our teams, I mean" Mariah blushed, and she could have sworn she saw a snort of laughter from Ray, but he covered it up by saying, "And?"

"I think he's kinda forgiven you" "Kinda?" Ray finally lifted his head from his hands.

"Yeah, I think he's still kind of nervous about you and me" "Why?" "Maybe he's afraid he's going to lose another teammate, another person dear to him" "I'm dear to him?" Mariah nodded.

"It wouldn't have been so bad had it been Kevin or Gary who left, but you….Well, it used to be only you, me, and him, remember?"

Ray remembered. There were so many memories of when he was small, like little Mariah scraping her elbow and crying while little Ray comforted her as little Lee ran off for a first-aid kit.

Or little Lee and little Ray leaving for school, and little Mariah crying as they left her at her and Lee's house because she wasn't yet old enough to go to school. Or even little Lee and little Ray practicing Beyblade at recess, while little Mariah watched with wide eyes.

Ray sighed as he recalled those days. He knew Mariah clung to those memories, and that they would probably never have a chance to become reality again.

"You know" Mariah said, rolling onto her stomach and cocking her head, "If anything ever happened with the Bladebreakers, you could always come back to the White Tigers"

Ray began to stroke Mariah's soft strands of pink hair. "Maybe someday" he whispered. Suddenly, they heard Lee calling Mariah's name.

"Mariah, we're going in for lunch!" he called. "All right, I'll be right there!" Mariah yelled back, "I have my key!"

"Well" she said, turning back to Ray, "Goodbye" "Goodbye" Ray said softly, and kissed Mariah's cheek. Mariah kissed him back and left, allowing Ray to finish up his thoughts and return to his own team.

Author's Notes: Long chapter, I know. Or at least, longest for this story by 6 written pages (2 typed pages). Actually, the next chapter is longer by one written page, or one-third of a typed page. I did type up an alternate ending for this chapter, but it would have changed the story so much that I decided to stick with the original. The alternate ending has been copied, pasted onto a blank document, and saved for later use. That's the lime I was talking about in my summary. Anyway, to beda and Summer Chill, have a cookie! They're chocolate chip, I know you can't resist! If anyone wants a cookie, they can review then next chapter, I'm just finishing up a batch of oatmeal raisin! rubs tummy


	4. Lunchtime Fiascos

Okay, I've been hearing a lot of rumors saying I can't respond to my reviews, so I'm not going to until I find out more on this.

On with the story!

"So what went on back there?" Tyson asked as the Bladebreakers also went inside for lunch.

"Nothing. We just talked" Ray said. Max and Tyson looked at each other and grinned. "Uh huh" Max said, "Just talked"

"We did!" Ray said indignantly. "Sure" Tyson said, and Max began to make extremely unnerving kissing noises.

Ray rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. Suddenly, Ray got a really evil idea.

"Well, I guess there's no fooling you" Ray said, trying very hard to suppress a grin, "Obviously, you know what happened back there. It _was_ pretty sick"

Tyson and Max's eyes lit up and they looked at each other in delight. Their eyes were as wide as humanly possible.

It took all of Ray's self control not to burst out into hysterical laughter right there. They were falling for it hook, line, and sinker!

"What happened? What happened?" Tyson and Max chanted. "Nah, I wouldn't want to poison your minds" Ray said, somehow managing to act calm and cool, as if he were discussing the weather.

Tyson and Max, however, were going mad. "Oh come on!" Tyson cried. "Yeah" Max agreed, "You can tell us!"

"No, you're too young to know" Ray said, beginning to walk up the steps to their floor.

"Oh come on!" Tyson cried, "You're only a year older than us!"

"Exactly" Ray said, "I'll tell you when you're sixteen"

"Isn't fifteen close enough?" Tyson begged.

"Please?" Max pleaded.

"Well maybe…" Tyson and Max's eyes lit up.

"Nope"

Ray then began to run up the stairs, Max and Tyson chasing after him, begging him the whole way.

Mariah was walking into the third floor corridor when Ray zoomed by her, followed by Tyson and Max. Kai and Kenny brought up the rear, Kenny with his nose in his computer, as usual.

"What was that all about?" Mariah asked.

"Don't ask me, I refuse to participate" (three guesses who)

Mariah shrugged it off and headed for her suite, reminding herself to call Ray about it later.

As Ray unlocked the suite door, he nearly collapsed to the floor with laughter. When Tyson and Max busted in, though, he got back up and decided to change the subject.

"How about I order a pizza?" he asked. Tyson's face lit up at the word 'pizza' and started talking at speeds that could dwarf a cheetah.

"Yeah!" he cried with glee, "I want onions and green peppers and pepperoni and anchovies and hamburger and extra cheese and-" At this moment, Ray and Max each slapped a hand over Tyson's mouth.

Five minutes later, Ray was finishing his order to the Pizza Planet nearby. He hung up the phone and walked into the living room.

"What did you order?" Max asked, having forgotten all about the situation that had happened beforehand.

"Two pizzas. One for Tyson and one for the rest of us. I got a plain cheese and a supreme" (guess which one's Tyson's)

"All right, cough it up" Ray said suddenly as Kai and Kenny entered the room, "Each pizza was 444 yen. Tyson has to pay for his own, and the we'll split the other one evenly. Yes, that means you, too, Kai"

Kai gave Ray a "hn" and fished out the money, while the others ran to their rooms to get their share, Tyson grumbling about 'unfair treatment'.

When the pizzas came, Ray gave the man the money and signed the receipt.

Two minutes later, after Tyson had already begun shoveling his ninth piece into his mouth with the force of a bulldozer, a piece of Tyson's pizza accidentally flew off his plate and hit Max in the arm.

"Hey!" Max cried and flung it right back at Tyson, hitting him smack in the face.

"What was that for?" Tyson demanded, his mouth full of pizza.

Ray and Kenny looked at each other in fear.

"Uh oh" they said, looking back at the two boys. Tyson threw another piece at Max, who returned fire.

"FOOD FIGHT!" they screamed. Pizza was suddenly everywhere, and Ray and Kenny instantly jumped under the table.

Kai simply walked away, getting hit in the back by a piece of cheese in the process.

When Mariah walked into her suite, she saw the boys already sitting around the table, waiting for something.

"Hope you don't mind, Mariah, but we ordered Chinese" Lee said.

"Nah, I'm fine" Mariah said, "I don't really feel like cooking anyway" "Okay, good"

When the food arrived, they all dug in. Mariah's favorite food were dumplings, so she took several more than the others.

Unconsciously, Mariah began to spin a dumpling around with her chopsticks.

"These aren't nearly as good as the ones back home" Mariah said, unaware that she was speaking out loud, "None of it is. Our soy sauce was always homemade, cooked by R-"

Mariah suddenly looked up to see everyone staring at her, and her cheeks turned pink.

"Umm, never mind" she muttered, seeming very interested in the floor at the moment. Lee sighed and put his chopsticks down.

"What do you say we invite Ray over for lunch?" Lee asked, and Mariah looked up at him with wide eyes and an even wider mouth.

"Really?" Mariah managed to choke out. Lee nodded and turned to the other two. Gary shrugged and Kevin rolled his eyes, pretending not to care.

Mariah could see right through that act and realized Kevin really wanted Ray to come.

"Oh thank you so much!" Mariah squealed and ran into her room, where her cell phone was.

"Well, she seemed happy" Kevin said, and the other two simply nodded.

Ray was still seated under the table when his cell phone rang. He dug into his pocket and checked the caller ID, just to see that it was Mariah!

"Hi Ray!" Mariah's voice came through loud and clear, and all the chaos around Ray seemed to disappear for a moment.

"Wassup?" Ray asked. Mariah took a deep breath and launched into the fastest summary Ray had ever heard.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd come over for lunch. The whole team agrees, Gary, Kevin, and even Lee. Please, we've got Chinese take-out food and lots of dumplings! I know it's not as good as home, but it's still good. So will you come? Please, please, please come!" Mariah closed her eyes in prayer.

Ray blinked and had to take it all in, then asked,

"Are you sure Lee's okay with it?"

Mariah began to nod so fast her head nearly flopped off, then remembered Ray couldn't see her, so she said,

"Yeah, I'm sure! It was his idea!"

"It was?" Ray was truly surprised.

"Uh huh. So will you come?"

"Sure I'll come! We were gonna have pizza but then Max and Tyson started a food fight and Kenny and I had to hide under the table, which is what we are still doing"

Ray peered out from under the table and saw that Max had clearly gone to the pantry for reinforcements, as he was now hurling croutons at Tyson like a fully-automatic machine gun.

"And Kai?"

"He tried to walk off and ended up getting hit in the back with some cheese"

"Oh"

"So when?"

"Now! We're waiting!"

"All right. It shouldn't be too hard to sneak out in this madness"

"All right, see you in a few minutes then"

"Right. Bye"

"Bye"

The two hung up and Ray found he was right. Kai was nowhere to be seen, Max and Tyson weren't paying any attention to anything but their 'war', as they were now calling it, and Kenny was in his own little world on his laptop, so it wasn't hard to sneak out.

When Mariah hung up her phone, she raced out to the rest of the White Tigers.

"So….Is he coming?" Lee asked, and Mariah nodded so hard her head nearly flopped off.

"How'd ya reach him?" Kevin asked, "I saw Tyson to the front desk yesterday that their phone was broken"

Lee and Gary sighed, but Mariah fumed up.

"Do you have to be so nosy?"

"Yes"

"Oh, you!" Mariah smacked him across the head.

"And for your information, I called his cell phone" she added.

"He has a cell phone?" Kevin's eyes lit up instantly.

"Yes, and I'm not telling you the number"

"Why not?"

"Because you'd prank call him all day" Mariah pretended to put a phone to her ear.

"Hello, Mr. Kon? I am calling from the White Tiger Village Plumbing Service, and I would like you to test your pipes by stuffing your head down the nearest toilet"

"Oh" Kevin said. Then he grinned.

"But thanks for the idea, though"

"If Ray calls me and tells me he got a call like that, I'll stuff _your_ head down the toilet"

"Nah, you wouldn't want to poison the poor thing"

Mariah and Kevin jumped, and saw Ray behind them. They then turned around to see Lee and Gary holding back laughter, and glared at them. But Mariah's anger didn't last long, as it quickly sunk in that Ray was here, and she jerked around and hugged him.

"Mariah?"

"Yes"

"You're…choking…me…"

"Oh!" Mariah cried and jumped off of him. She turned red as Lee, Gary, and Kevin erupted into hysterical laughter.

Then, Lee and Ray's eyes met, and for a split second, their expressions changed, Ray's solemn and Lee's serious. But, almost instantly, they hid it and Lee invited Ray to sit down.

Mariah gasped and the others looked at her.

"What?" Lee asked.

"We only have four chairs!"

"That's okay" Lee said, "Kevin can sit on the floor"

"HEY!"

"You can have my chair, Ray. I'm full" Gary said, getting up.

"That's possible?" Mariah asked, and Gary rolled his eyes. So Ray sat down, Gary headed for his room, and Mariah began to talk.

"Ray" She began, "Why were Max and Tyson chasing you up the stairs today? Kai wouldn't tell me and Kenny's nose was buried in his computer"

Now it was Ray's turn to blush.

"Oh you don't want to know about that" he said, and Mariah raised her eyebrows.

"You do realize that I want to know about it even more, now, don't you?" "Yeah"

So Ray began to tell the story. And by the end of it, everyone at the table was on the floor, howling with laughter. Kevin gasped for air, then went right back into his mad fit of laughter.

And so, as the day continued on, Ray realized how lucky he was. He'd just had a great time with a team he'd left a year ago, who were just getting over hating his guts.

But what Ray didn't know, was that it would be the last carefree moment with them he'd be having in a while.

Author's Notes: (Gasps for breath) It's done! I am SO sorry it took so long to update, this was a really long chapter to type up, and our monitor broke, so I had to wait until we got a new one (that, and I'm lazy). Anyways, as punishment for procrastinating so long, I typed the last part of this chapter with no music in the background, so it was slow and painful. I hope you guys like it, and I'll get back on my normal updating schedule shortly!


	5. The Invatation

Hey! I'm back!

Chapter 5: The Invitation

The next morning, as Kenny was eating breakfast, Max was kicking Tyson awake, Ray was putting his hair into his pony-tail, and Kai was being his usual antisocial self, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed, the mail came through the slot.

Ray finished and began to shift through the mail, discarding any fan letters.

"Fangirl, fangirl, fan-" Ray stopped suddenly, "What have we here?"

The envelope was plain and important looking, and there were no little hearts in sight. It was addressed "To the Bladebreakers", and it had the BBA logo on it.

"Hey Kai, I think you might want to have a look at this" Ray nodded to their team captain.

"If it's another one of those fan letters, Ray, so help me god, I swear I'll-" "It's not. It's from the BBA"

"Wha's goin' on?" a voice muttered from behind them. Max and a very sleepy Tyson were now emerging from the room they shared.

"How'd you get him up?" Ray asked. Max smiled.

"I told him he missed breakfast". Kai rolled his eyes.

"Here, Tyson, you can have mine" Kenny said, getting up from the table to get a look at the letter.

"Thanks, Chief" Tyson said, and then looked curiously over to the others as they gathered around the letter. Ray began to read it aloud.

"To Mr.'s Tyson Kinomiya, Max Tate, Raymond Kon, and Kai Hiwatari" Ray began, "We have chosen your team to represent Japan in the upcoming Bitbeast Tournament.

"Sixteen countries have been chosen, those who have teams with both excellent skill and Bitbeasts. The tournament will take place in four different states in America, and the first is New York.

"The tournament begins on Saturday, January 13. You must send a letter back to us, stating whether you accept the invitation or not, by Wednesday, January 10. If you choose to accept, a plane will be sent for you at gate A11 of the Sakura National Airport.

"It is completely the decision of the team captain whether or not you attend. Your airline tickets are enclosed. We hope to see you there! Signed, the BBA"

Ray refolded the letter, and all eyes fell on Kai.

"So…" Tyson said, having gotten up, "Are we going?"

Kai smirked.

"You betcha"

Author's Notes: Okay, I know, _really_ OOC, but I liked it. The original actually had a bit more, but I liked it that way, so I guess I'll just put the rest in as a flashback or something. And I completely made up that airport's name, in the original, it was, like, Kikyo Kyoto Airport, or something stupid like that. (checks original copy) Yup, it was exactly that. Well, anyway, tootles, and remember to review!


End file.
